The place for great and not-so-great nearly forgotten videos from the decade of Miami Vice, mullets, and acid wash jeans. All praise to the bands, YouTube, and the original posters of these videos.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Love and Rockets - So Alive

Love and Rockets emerged from the ashes of Bauhaus, an early and influential goth rock band that formed in 1978. Bauhaus broke up in 1983, but the members stayed in touch and in 1985 agreed to a joint rehearsal. Lead singer Peter Murphy didn't show up, but the other musicians -- Daniel Ash, David J and Kevin Haskins did and jammed together. The jam session went so well that they decided to form a band, which became Love and Rockets, named after a comic book series by Los Bros Hernandez.

The band had somewhat of a cult following prior to their breakout 1989 hit "So Alive." While their music was more driving and upbeat than Bauhaus (which is not saying much), it was still definitely indie rock, with a strong psychedelic vibe. "So Alive," with its T-Rex and Lou Reed influences, is a bit of an aberration and caused some controversy among the bands' supporters, with some predictably calling it a sell-out.

In any event, the song became a big hit in 1989, ending up at #3 on the charts. While Love and Rockets continued to make music until their eventual break up in 1999, they did not have another hit, leaving them as a one-hit wonder. In the years since, there have been periodic reunions of both Love and Rockets and Bauhaus, although both bands appear to be on hiatus at the moment.